Playing the Game
by 505 living dead
Summary: Naruto is the orphan of former mafia members, and the only thing that keeps him sane from all the bullying is playing basketball. What happens when he gets sent to training camp with his team and Sasuke starts taking an interest in him? (Super crap summary but bear with me, guys!) Rated M for safety and also future chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm back! Been a crazy year what with moving across the atlantic 3 times, but what do you do?**

 **Anyway, just an idea I had floating around. Not sure how it'll turn out yet, but here we go :-)**

 **/505**

Chapter 1

Naruto cut left, a satisfied grin appearing on his face as Sasuke passed the ball so that it landed perfectly in his hands. Hidan raced over, cursing, but it was too late, Naruto was already in the air, slamming the ball into the basket.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered as the buzzer rang, signaling the end of the practice match. He landed, still smiling at his last minute shot, but his teammates had already turned away, wiping the sweat off their faces or talking amongst each other.

"Fucker," Hidan mumbled under his breath, shoving Naruto aside as he made his way back to his friends, snickering when he stumbled slightly.

The smile on Naruto's face faded as the euphoria that came from playing left him, and he was confronted with reality once again. He sighed, then quickly replaced the frown on his face with an idiotic grin and scratched the back of his head. They would pounce if he showed any weakness.

"Ok, guys, gather round," Iruka called, looking up from the scoresheet. Naruto headed over, stopping to grab water out of his bag first. "Good game, I can see some real improvement here, though there are obviously some places where some of you need work." He smiled at the group, who shifted under his gaze, each wondering if it was them he was talking about.

"Anyway," he continued, "as you all know, at the end of next month the yearly basketball tournament will begin, with the winning team splitting a cash prize and the MVP getting a full-ride basketball scholarship to the school of their choice." Naruto tensed with excitement. If he could pull MVP, it would be his ticket to Colombia University in New York. His ticket out of this small town. It was everything he wanted, and the only way he could afford it was with the full-ride.

"It's a huge chance," Iruka smiled, acknowledging the excited whispers that arose, "and I think that this year our team is ready. But before that, we have one final event."

"Training camp," the boys chorused, grins splitting their faces. Training camp was brutal and fast-paced, but it determined the starting players for the tournament (no small feat, as their team had nine players), where even those who didn't win had the possibility of being scouted for a college team. And most importantly, there were girls.

"Yes. Unfortunately I can't make it this year due to certain circumstances, but I've already forwarded all of your information to Orochimaru-sensei, who will be training you in my place. The bus is leaving from the parking lot at 8:15 tomorrow morning. Don't be late, behave or I'll know about it, and make me proud, guys. Dismissed."

* * *

Naruto's heart sank at the news as he turned with the group and headed to the locker room. Training camp without Iruka meant no protection. It meant facing his teammates alone.

 _I wonder how much time I have before they realize it_ , he thought, speeding up. Maybe if he got out quickly enough nobody would bother him for today.

"Hey, fucker, did you hear that?" No such luck, Naruto tensed as Hidan entered the locker room behind him. "Sensei's not going to be there for camp."

"So it'll be a party, huh? Those managers get cuter every year." Kisame grinned, following his friend.

"No you idiot," Kakuzu snarled as he walked in. "He means that without Iruka there, there won't be anybody to protect the mafia fuck."

Naruto flinched at the nickname, as he did every time.

"Don't call me that."

"Or what, mafia fuck? Whatcha gonna do? Call your parents?" Kakuzu laughed. "Oh, I forgot, you can't. Those mafia fucks were killed just like they deserved, weren't they?"

The words sent a wave of anger through Naruto, and he gritted his teeth. _Don_ _'_ _t respond. Just don_ _'_ _t say anything and maybe they_ _'_ _ll leave me alone_ , he chanted to himself, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. He opened his locker and started pulling his clothes out, knowing that showering and changing in the same room as them would be reckless. He could wait until he got home.

"I don't know why you're even coming," Hidan sneered. "Nobody wants the son of murderous fucking mafia members around. You're fucking trash."

"Haha look, he's shaking." Kisame laughed. "Think he's angry?"

"Not like he can do anything about it," Kakuzu responded. "I heard that he's already on probation."

"Well he does have the tainted blood of criminals running through his veins, what do you expect? I wonder why they don't just throw him in jail now and get it over with."

Naruto's knuckles turned white around the strap of his bag as he quickly zipped it up. His entire being was telling him to throw himself at the boys and make them take back the garbage that had come out of their mouths, but he couldn't afford to. His probation officer, Kakashi, had made it clear that one more fight would mean prison time now that he could be tried as an adult, and all that would accomplish would be to prove what everyone thought about him. About his family.

Naruto's parents had been killed when he was thirteen, while participating in illegal activity relating to the Akatsuki, the largest and most dangerous mafia group around. Naruto knew his parents weren't mafia, but since all the proof stated otherwise, nobody had believed him. To everyone around him, he was the child of Akatsuki members. Trash.

Through middle and high school he had constantly been bullied over his parents and treated like a criminal. It didn't help that he had no other living relatives, and until he had turned 18 last year, he'd been a ward of the state, living in a foster care system.

Naruto had spent years fighting back to every attack, defending his good name and that of his parents, but the fights had eventually progressed to the point where the police couldn't ignore them anymore and had brought him in. If he got through the end of this year without fighting, his slate was clean and he was free. If not, all of his hard work in school and basketball would mean nothing. It would be a one way ticket to jail time.

His teammates were still talking shit, so he closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, just like Kakashi had taught him, trying to expel the anger that was simmering inside him, too close to the surface. Get out of here, he told himself. Just walk out.

Naruto opened his eyes and grabbed his gym bag, striding past the assholes towards the door. At the door he almost ran into Sasuke, who had been on his way out. They locked eyes for a moment before Naruto grabbed for the door and walked out, Sasuke behind him.

Sasuke Uchiha was famous in their school. Not only was he the richest guy around, he was also the sexiest, with girls practically passing out at the sight of him. Strangely enough, this didn't make him hated by the guys, who revered him. Not that Sasuke could care less; he pretty much just kept to himself, finding people uninteresting and not worth the effort it would take to talk to them.

He and Naruto weren't friends, in fact Sasuke generally completely ignored Naruto and his problems. But he never went out of his way to bother him or taunted him about his parents, like so many others were wont to do. That, combined with how much he loved basketball, made him alright in Naruto's book.

Plus, playing against him was actually fun, since Sasuke was the only guy on the team who could hold his own against him.

They nodded at each other at the exit and went their separate ways.

* * *

 **I'm gonna try to keep a regular update schedule for this one, now that I'm finally settled down :-P**

 **Please comment and review!**

 **paz**

 **505/**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, here's chapter 2! Let me know what you think, I really appreciate it (plus I'm a bit scared my writing's gotten rusty from the long ass break, so any feedback is great)**

 **Totally forgot this last chapter but better late than never: I don't own anything. I'm a broke uni student :-P**

 **Enjoy!**

 **505/**

* * *

Chapter 2

Sasuke sighed as he hung up the phone. They were sharing a bus with the town's other team, making it a tight fit, and he had gotten to the pickup spot early, fully intending to claim a seat on the bus and scare everyone else away with the force of his glare, so that he could sit alone for the ride.

But of course his father had chosen that moment to call and remind him yet again that he had to reply to his college acceptance letters soon, and then his mother had gotten on the phone to make sure he had packed everything he needed for the training camp, and now he had missed his chance. Everyone else had already boarded, and the chances of getting a seat alone was nonexistent.

He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and climbed the steps on the bus. Yup, everyone was spread out, leaving no empty rows. His options were limited to sitting at the front of the bus with the loud, obnoxious players of the other team, or to sit in the back with Naruto, who always got a double spot because nobody wanted to sit next to him.

Sasuke sighed again. It was never a good idea to get involved with Naruto, because it drew attention and only caused problems later on, but the choice was obvious. There was was no way he could survive a three hour ride sitting next to the idiots in the front.

He made his way to the back of the bus and slung his bag into the seat next to Naruto, who jumped, startled, when the bag landed.

"You're sitting here?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Hn," Sasuke responded, taking a book out of his bag before putting it on the overhead rack.

"Ok, then," Naruto shrugged and stuck his earphone back in, going back to looking out the window as the bus pulled out.

This might not be so bad after all, Sasuke thought as he settled in. At least Naruto wouldn't try to talk to him.

They spend the next hour like this, Naruto listening to music and staring out the window while Sasuke read beside him. In fact, Naruto was so quiet that Sasuke had almost forgotten he was there until the boy's head flopped over and landed on his shoulder, almost making him drop his book in surprise.

Sasuke was about to shove the boy off of him and demand an explanation when he realized that Naruto had simply fallen asleep. He shook his shoulder a bit, hoping that Naruto would either wake up or just move his head, but all he did was make himself more comfortable.

Sasuke sighed in frustration. He was going to have to actually wake Naruto, which would be awkward and would require speaking to the boy, which was a pain in the ass. But there was no way he was letting his shoulder be used as a pillow, especially by a guy.

He leaned over to wake the boy, but the sight of Naruto's sleeping face gave him pause. He looked so…peaceful, for lack of a better word. Usually, he had this wound up, tight look about him, as if he was expecting to be attacked from all sides at any moment. Not that Sasuke had been paying any particular attention to him or anything. He had just noticed, like he noticed everything around him. It was the Uchiha way.

But Naruto's sleeping face was so different. It was peaceful and open, innocent, almost, and it made Sasuke want to protect him. Which was a stupid feeling, he reminded himself, reaching out to shake the boy awake. But against his better judgement, his hand stopped an inch from Naruto's shoulder, moving up to brush his hair out of his face.

His hair was soft, and it shimmered when the light hit it, giving the illusion of spun gold. And it smelled really nice. _No, it_ _'_ _s him that smells good_ , the thought came unbidden to his head, snapping him out of the trance he had fallen into, and he quickly pulled his hand out of the boy's hair, where it had tangled itself into the strands.

Naruto pouted in his sleep as if he missed the contact, and Sasuke jerked his attention back to the book in his lap, ignoring the senseless heat rising in his cheeks and the fact that he was making no move to wake the boy.

It would be more trouble than it's worth, he rationalized to himself, trying not to notice how comfortable the warm weight on his shoulder felt.

* * *

"Konoha high, this is your stop!" Came the call from the driver, and Naruto felt himself shoved off the comfortable pillow he'd been sleeping on as he woke with a start.

"W-wha? Huh?" He mumbled groggily as he sat up, trying to get his bearings.

"Wake up, idiot, we're here," Sasuke snapped from his left, looking annoyed. Naruto frowned. Was Sasuke usually this crabby? Or this verbal? He couldn't remember, which was normal, since they'd never actually spoken outside of practice.

He rubbed the left side of his face, which felt unusually warm, and felt, rather than saw Sasuke stiffen next to him. He wondered if he'd been sleeping on Sasuke, which would explain the warmth and Sasuke's annoyance, but not why the other boy hadn't just shoved him off.

Before he could ask, Sasuke had grabbed his bag and stalked off the bus, leaving Naruto confused and scrambling to gather his stuff and catch up.

Outside, the group had assembled in front of a skinny man with a waxy complexion and stringy, oily black hair that hung past his soldiers. His gaze crawled over the team, pausing on a face or two, and taking especially long on Sasuke's.

"My name is Orochimaru, and I will be replacing Iruka-sensei as your coach this month," the man said. His voice was as oily as his hair, and he spoke so softly that they had to strain to hear him. He gave Naruto the creeps. "Make no mistake, it will be a long and grueling few weeks, but it will be rewarding for those of you who have the skills and willpower to keep up.

"Your manager, Sakura"—everyone perked up at this—"will give you a tour of the facilities and dorms as soon as she gets here, followed by lunch. At 1:30 we will meet in the main gym for a scrimmage, so that I can properly assess your potential."

Orochimaru's smile slithered across his face and Naruto found the hairs on his arms standing up. What was with this guy? He glanced sideways at Sasuke, who was right beside him, to gauge his reaction, but the boy's face was blank as always. Naruto briefly wondered what it would look like with an actual expression. Maybe the reason Sasuke never smiled was because it looked hideous? But Naruto couldn't imagine Sasuke looking hideous, he didn't think it was even possible. The bastard would probably look good even under the worst conditions: like with a week of no sleep, a hangover, a black eye, a sunburn and constipation, all at the same time. The thought made Naruto laugh silently, and he spent the next few minutes trying to imagine what that would even look like.

"Ah, there she is," the unwelcome voice of Orochimaru interrupted Naruto's strange train of thought, and he looked up to find a pretty pink haired girl lugging a large duffel bag running up to them.

"Hey, sorry I'm late! My bus got delayed!" The girl smiled, dropping her bag and tucking her bright pink hair behind her ear. "If you're done with them I can start the tour now," she said to Orochimaru, who nodded his assent and walked away, leaving the team alone with her.

Sakura turned to them with another smile, and the boys straightened slightly, several of them trying to flex inconspicuously and failing. She ignored them, her eyes immediately fixing on Sasuke, and Naruto could swear he saw little hearts pop into her eyes.

"Hi!" She gushed, "My name is Sakura and I'll be your manager for the next two weeks." She aimed a smile at Sasuke, who ignored her, while everyone else introduced themselves. Sakura looked slightly disheartened when it was clear that Sasuke wasn't going to respond, but pulled herself together and grabbed her bag. "Well come on, then. Let's start the tour."

Sakura led them around the outside of the building, and Naruto maneuvered himself so that he'd wind up walking next to her.

"Let me carry your bag," he offered, giving her a wide grin.

"If you want, but it's heavier than it looks," Sakura smirked back. Naruto shrugged and took the bag, almost dropping it when he realized how heavy it was.

"What do you have in here? A pile of rocks?" He exclaimed, much to Sakura's amusement.

"I told you so," she laughed. Naruto joined in, ignoring the glares from his teammates behind him. They'd hate him either way, and it'd be nice to have at least one friend at camp.

Sakura led them through the courtyard, pointing out the track and the half-courts outside, and then into the building, where the full court, weight rooms, cafeteria, and dorms were. The entire time, Naruto kept up a steady stream of half flirtatious chatter, enjoying the novelty of talking to someone who had no idea who he was and therefore hadn't formed any misconceptions or biases.

He even briefly entertained the idea of seriously pursuing her, but the way she kept batting her eyelashes at Sasuke (who was walking next to them for some reason) and trying to enter him into the conversation quickly dissuaded him. Naruto knew he wasn't unattractive, but even he couldn't compete with Sasuke when it came to his fangirls.

Sasuke for his part mostly stayed quiet, listening to Naruto blabber on and trying to ignore the way Sakura kept looking at him and "accidentally" brushing up against him. When she got too close, he shook her off and fixed his coldest glare on her, but much to Naruto's amusement, she seemed oblivious and kept clinging to him. It was therefore a relief when they arrived at the dorm room and she had to leave them, reminding them not to be late to lunch.

As soon as Sakura left, Hidan shoved Naruto against the wall.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Mafia fuck, taking all the attention like that, huh?" He snarled. "What you think you're like us? Normal? You think she'd talk to you if she knew who you were?"

Naruto glared back silently, knowing he couldn't retaliate. He took a deep breath and forced himself to unclench his fists, focusing his gaze downwards.

Hidan took the look as a gesture of subservience and smirked, backing away. Naruto sighed in relief.

Rubbing at his neck where Hidan's forearm had choked him, he glanced around the dormitory for the first time and winced. He had known the school's budget wouldn't pay for separate rooms, but he had hoped that at least they'd get separate beds. But no, there were four sets of bunk beds and one hastily added cot.

One guess as to who would get the cot with the cheap mattress and lumpy pillow? Yeah. Naruto threw his bag on the cot, ignoring the smirking faces of his teammates. This camp was going to be just great.

* * *

 **/ Two down, however many more to go! (I have about 4 more chapters fully planned out and probably a good 10 after that? Maybe?)**

 **Review me please! I'm a sucker for your love**

 **Paz/**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, 505 here.**

 **I'm apologizing in advance for any lateness posting the next 2 weeks, as it is break and I am traveling (again)! The good news is, I'm getting comfortable with this story, and I'm starting to have a good idea of how it's gonna go, which'll make it much easier to stay on top of :-)**

 **Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone, and here's a bit more (future) SasuNaru to keep you warm over break :-D**

 **Disclaimer: HAHAHAHAHAHA _owning things._ That requires money, and all of my money goes towards food, school, and traveling. Maybe one day. But until then, I own nothing.**

 **please review!**

* * *

Chapter 3

The team rushed through lunch, since they had spent all morning on the bus and were ready to play. Thankfully, the food was good, and since the dining hall was set up like a cafeteria, Naruto was able to claim a good table knowing that the rest of them would avoid it at all costs.

Sasuke tried to get a table for himself, but Sakura claimed the seat next to him, and the rest of the team, led by Kizame, took that as an invitation to join them. Much to Sasuke's annoyance (and Naruto's amusement), Sakura seemed immune to the death glares he was sending her, and since she was sitting on his right side, he had a hard time extracting his arm from her grip long enough to eat.

After lunch, they changed and assembled to start the real work. Orochimaru started them off with ten laps around the track, followed by half an hour of strength training and then led them to the court.

They were one person short for five on five scrimmage, so Orochimaru had them do four on four with someone switching out every few minutes.

Naruto was one of the starting eight, opposite Sasuke, which made him grin. He and Sasuke were a good team, but since none of the others except the captain, Kizame, were anywhere near their level, it was still more fun playing against him. At least he had a real challenge.

Sasuke allowed a small smirk to grace his face at the provocative grin as he slowly dribbled the ball. On the court was the only time he wasn't completely ignoring everyone around him, and Naruto in particular usually took up most of his attention.

The two boys had completely different playing styles; Sasuke's a textbook example of good technique and Naruto's a more fluid, instinctive play, but they were surprisingly evenly matched.

Playing against Naruto was one of Sasuke's favorite things to do, since the boy's natural skill always kept him on his toes, made him work harder, making him a better player. It was true for both of them; they were never better than when they were on the court together. Even Sakura's annoying cheers couldn't ruin that for him.

All too soon, Naruto was switched out, his team four points ahead, and he groaned in disappointment. But everyone needed a turn to play, so he sat back and watched the rest of his team.

They were good, that was for sure, but besides Sasuke, Kizame, and himself, there were no players that really stood out. Hidan was undeniably good at offense, which suited his personality, but his defense and control were all over the place. Kakuzu had pretty much the opposite problem, so the pair complemented each other, but couldn't seem to get along well enough to really bring out their potential. The rest of them were mostly good players all around, but didn't excel in any field. Naruto thought that their best chance of winning the tournament would be to have he and Sasuke as point guards, Hidan as center, and Kakuzu and Kizame as forwards.

 _That_ _'_ _s assuming they get their heads out of their asses and let me play,_ Naruto frowned. But no matter how much they hated him, they wouldn't sabotage their chances of winning just for that, would they?

Naruto pushed aside his worries by starting a conversation with Sakura. Someone had definitely filled her in on the reason he was an outcast, since she responded with a forced smile, but somewhere between his flirtatious compliments and completely unbelievable stories about his awesomeness, Sakura forgot about his parents and started laughing along with him and demanding information on Sasuke.

Orochimaru ended their chatter by calling an end to the scrimmage, and Naruto suddenly realized that he'd only been swapped in once. He ignored the flicker of worry that came, focusing instead on how well he'd played. Maybe Orochimaru had noticed and just didn't need any more information on him.

The team sat around Orochimaru while he went over his assessment of them and Sakura handed out towels. He went through each player by name, pointing out areas of weakness that even Naruto hadn't noticed. He nodded along, impressed, until Orochimaru moved on to the type of training he was going to be assigning, and he realized that he had been skipped over.

"Um, Orochimaru-sensei?" He interrupted, feeling uneasy when the man slid his gaze over him silently.

"Is there a problem, Uzumaki?" His voice was quiet, but Naruto could hear a slight taunt in it, causing him to stiffen warily.

"You didn't say anything about me," he said slowly. "In your assessment."

"That's because you don't matter," Orochimaru sneered, and Naruto felt his nervousness morph into something slightly more dangerous.

"What?" He ground out, his voice surprisingly low.

"Well you obviously think you're better than everyone else, but you don't have the skill to back it up. All you are is some petty criminal brat who thinks ego is enough to replace work. I'm surprised you got this far at all," he said, and Naruto jumped up in anger.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He demanded. "I _am_ a good player, and I work just as hard as everybody else here!"

Uzumaki!" Orochimaru snapped. "How dare you talk to a teacher like that? Take ten laps, and you won't be having dinner tonight. I suggest you take that time to reflect on your conduct." And with that he turned back to the rest of the team, who's faces ranged from complete shock (Sakura), stoic bewilderment (Sasuke), to open glee (Hidan), and continued his speech.

Naruto exhaled sharply, seeing red, but whipped his head around and stalked away without saying anything.

* * *

Naruto ended up running much more than the ten laps required of him. The pounding of his feet against the ground forming an almost therapeutic rhythm. He was angry. Angry at being constantly mistreated, angry at being a second class citizen, angry at having to put up with all of this because of something his parents had allegedly done.

And he was angry at himself for being so naive. People like Iruka were a rare commodity, his niceness and understanding far from the norm. He shouldn't have expected camp to continue like practice without him there, he should have known better. And yet he had let down his guard, and look where that got him.

Naruto ran until he was exhausted, knowing that only sleep would keep away the hunger pangs tonight. He took his time stretching and showering, hoping to get to the dorm room last, when everyone was already in bed, but when he finally crawled into his uncomfortable cot, he found sleep evading him.

After tossing and turning for hours, trying to turn off his mind and convince himself to go to sleep, Naruto sighed and accepted that there was only one way he would be able to calm down. Silently, he slipped out of bed.

* * *

Sasuke woke in the middle of the night. He blinked sleep from his eyes, trying to remember what had woken him up, and realized that he had to go to the bathroom. He tried to keep his eyes from re-closing as he convinced himself to get out of bed, and finally sat up.

He silently padded across the room to the door, and glancing down as he passed, noticed that Naruto wasn't in his bed.

 _Must be in the bathroom as well,_ he deduced, stepping out of the room and heading down the hall. He was surprised to find the bathroom empty, but was too tired to give it any real thought.

Climbing back into bed, the last coherent thought to go through his mind before he passed out was ' _Where_ _'_ _d Naruto go?_ _'_

* * *

 **/505 here.**

 **Hope you guys are still with me :-)**

 **Please review, I accept all comments and (constructive!) criticism. And it makes me happy, which is the whole point of this season, isn't it?**

 **Again, happy holidays to you all, however you choose to spend it (I also accept good stories), and see you sometime next week :-)**

 **Paz/**


	4. Chapter 4

**505 here.**

 **Happy holidays to everyone, and as always, the best present you could give me is a comment.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

Chapter 4

Sasuke woke up to the sound of Sakura's voice, and almost groaned before realizing where he was. He wasn't in the safety of his own room and therefore he could show no weaknesses.

"C'mon, guys, up and at 'em. Breakfast in 30!" Sakura called again, and around him, the sound of eight other teenage boys waking up filled the room.

Sasuke sat up, squinting against the glare of the window, which for some reason had no curtains, before sweeping his eyes across the room to land on Naruto's cot, where Naruto was…waking up as well?

He glared at the boy in confusion. Had he dreamt the boy's absence last night? No, that didn't sound like him. So where had he gone, and when had he come back?

Seeing no immediate answers coming forth, Sasuke sighed and got out of bed, grabbing a set of clean clothes from his bag.

* * *

Sasuke had been hoping to grab a free corner of the cafeteria and sit alone, but Sakura fell into step with him as soon as he walked in and started blabbering in his ear. Then the rest of the team decided to sit with him again, destroying his chances of having a quiet morning and immediately putting him in a bad mood for the day.

Naruto, of course, avoided their table entirely and focused on eating what must have been three times his share of food. He was tired and hungry and for once was glad that he could sit alone and eat in peace.

Practice didn't improve Sasuke's mood. Orochimaru had taken a strange interest in him, and spent the entirety of the stretches and simple drills at his side, watching him creepily.

He started praising Sasuke for the simplest things, and would constantly touch him with the pretense of 'correcting his posture' or some such shit. Sasuke suppressed a shudder every time the man came near, but he didn't want to publicly tell him off, since Orochimaru was still a teacher, after all.

The obvious favoritism caused him other problems, too. Kizame was understandably insulted by the slight, and seemed to think that Sasuke had done it on purpose. Unhelpfully, the rest of the team, led by Kabuto, started mimicking Orochimaru-sensei, and instead of giving Sasuke a respectful space as usual, starting actively sucking up to him, crowding him and asking to be taught different moves.

Then they started playing four-on-four, and Sakura spent the entire time cheering him on, squealing his name, and handing him an unnecessary amount of towels to wipe himself with, all of which resulted in a pounding headache.

On top of all of that, Orochimaru never let Naruto play at the same time as Sasuke, which lowered the level of the game and left him feeling frustrated and annoyed.

* * *

Naruto was sent to one of the smaller half courts for most of the day and told to practice alone, since he was "a distraction to the serious players on this team". He was honestly fine with that; it gave him a chance to unwind the only way he knew how, by playing, and without having to worry about the others for once.

He sort of wished that at least Sasuke could join him, so he could try out some new moves, but the chances of Orochimaru letting go of his favorite student were slim so Naruto quickly pushed the thought out of his mind.

When Orochimaru finally allowed him to come join them after lunch, he spent the entire time criticizing Naruto and making an example of him to the others. Naruto tried to compensate by not making any obvious errors, but the man's slimy voice had him shaking in anger and humiliation, and he couldn't control himself enough to play well.

The team again took their cues from Orochimaru and ridiculed Naruto as much as they could. They would trip him, send him shitty passes that he couldn't catch, or aim at his head when he wasn't looking. He was constantly tripled teamed, and since his teammates refused to help, the ball was stolen more often from him than anyone else, giving Orochimaru more material to use against him.

The entire scrimmage was basically a waste of time, especially since he never got to play with or against Sasuke, and Naruto was glad when Orochimaru sent them running. At least then he could just outpace them and run alone.

Unfortunately, that meant that he got back way before the rest of the team, and Orochimaru was waiting for him.

"Back so soon Uzumaki?" He taunted. "I see you still have enough energy to show off."

Resigned, Naruto didn't answer, and instead waited for the punishment that was sure to follow. If Orochimaru was disappointed at the lack of reaction, he didn't show it.

"Why don't you go clean the court before dinner, then. It's covered in sweat and it's a bit much for Sakura to do alone," he said, half smiling. Naruto frowned. It almost sounded reasonable, if it wasn't for the fact that it took the entire team a good half hour to clean it. With only one person it would undoubtedly take at least two hours, and he'd likely miss dinner altogether.

"I suggest you hurry up. If you're lucky you'll finish before the cafeteria closes," Orochimaru's grin widened as he confirmed Naruto's fears, and he turned away to watch Sasuke appear on the trail, the next to arrive.

Naruto knew a dismissal when he saw one, and he didn't want anyone else to see him in this situation anyway, so he sighed and jogged back to the gym, stopping at the janitors closet to pick up a mop and broom.

* * *

 **Yeah, pretty short, I know, but things'll start speeding up soon. Also, yes, Naruto and Sasuke will actually interact at some point :-)**

 **Comment! Favorite! Anything!**

 **And enjoy your holidays. I damn well needed one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.**

 **Paz**

 **505/**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I'm back home, which means that classes are starting up again soon (boo), and exams are coming up (ugh), so my posting might get a bit erratic over the next few weeks (lol I should say _more_ erratic haha). Stick with me though, as I _will_ be posting.**

 **Also it has come to my attention that I've been misspelling Kisame as Kizame (oops). I'll be spelling it right from now on but I'm too lazy to change the earlier chapters right now (sorry!). Probably when the story is almost done I'll go back through it to edit/change/resolve whatever I need and I'll fix it then :-)**

 **And lastly, I want to thank everyone who has been reading, following, favoriting and _commenting_ on my story! It means a lot! (notice how the commenting was in bold? Thats cause I love them. Keep 'em coming, guys)**

 **I own nothing**

* * *

Chapter 5

Sasuke never paid much attention to the people around him. The only person he hung out with, Shikamaru Nara, was as intelligent as him and quiet enough not to bother him. Besides Shikamaru, he ignored pretty much everyone, except when he had to glare at a fangirl who got too close or talk to a teacher. He was used to being able to categorize and dismiss people easily, and found them boring and annoying.

But Naruto seemed to be impossible to fit in one of his boxes, and he'd somehow caught Sasuke's interest. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to the boy than he, or anyone else had thought, and his gut instincts were usually right.

Sasuke caught himself studying Naruto as they scrimmaged the next day. Naruto seemed to be acting normally. He had the same goofy smile on his face as usual and played as well as always.

But watching closely, Sasuke could tell that Naruto was exhausted. It was taking him slightly longer to react to the game than usual, and his goofy smile was slightly strained. Actually, it surprised Sasuke that Naruto was acting so normally at all, considering that he'd disappeared from his bed two nights in a row. In his place, Sasuke would have been noticeably tired.

Naruto, on the other hand, seemed fine. It made him wonder how often the boy didn't sleep. Or how used he was to pretending to be ok.

And it wasn't just that. Besides the lack of sleep, there were signs of a deeper weariness. Now that Sasuke was paying attention, Naruto's pain was so obvious it hurt to look at.

He was always wound up, always on his guard, always going out of his way to deflect attention. Even his goofy smile was a protective armor, something to hide himself behind. It never reached his eyes, which were always hard and wary. Sasuke wondered if he'd ever seen Naruto smile for real, and how intelligent the boy was under the guise of his apparent idioticy.

It didn't help that the level of tension had been raised. It was their third day at camp, and everyone was starting to feel the stress of constant practice. That, combined with the lack of other entertainment had caused the rest of the team to up their level of bullying, sure now that they wouldn't get in trouble for it.

The bad passes and jostling from the previous day had turned into something uglier with their tiredness. Naruto was now the target of vicious elbows and knees, and he'd caught more than one punch over the course of the practice.

Sasuke flinched every time he saw Naruto hit, and wondered why the normally combative boy didn't move to defend himself until he remembered that Naruto was still on probation, and therefore couldn't fight back. The unfairness of it sent anger curling through him, and he found himself intercepting some of the rougher attacks, knowing their teammates would pull back rather than hit him.

Hidan gave him a strange look when one of Sasuke's blocks was too obvious, and Sasuke flushed, wondering why he even cared, but the dead look in Naruto's eyes as he accepted all punishment made him shrug the thought aside, and he resumed his subtle protection.

* * *

Naruto had been prepared for the violence. When he was younger, he'd always been an easy target for people to release their frustrations on. Over the years, he'd taught everyone but the most dedicated bullies that he was not to be fucked with.

But he was on probation now, and no matter how good it would feel, fighting back and getting a record would end any chance he had of properly escaping this town.

So he'd been prepared. He'd put on his goofy smile, dodged the worst of the blows as best he could, and tried to get lost in the flow of the game despite his harsh reality.

It was tiring, though, and try as he might, there was no way to dodge everything. Kakuzu had just slammed an elbow in his gut, disguised as an attempt at defense, and he'd doubled over slightly, trying to catch his breath, when he saw Kisame heading over with a sick grin on his face.

The captain's hits had been especially hard today; he'd been taking his anger at Orochimaru's obvious favoritism of Sasuke out on him. Wincing, he tried to ignore the pain in his stomach and get out of the way, but Kisame was much faster and Kakuzu was still blocking him from the other direction.

Resigned, he tried to at least make himself a smaller target and protect his face, but before Kisame could get over to him, Sasuke suddenly cut between them, setting up a pick.

Startled, Kisame faltered to a stop, and was forced to turn and help Kakuzu, who was in danger of getting the ball stolen.

Naruto sighed in relief at his good luck and rejoined the game, more alert than before, but surprisingly, every time someone approached him violently, Sasuke was in the way, stealing the ball, cutting through, or setting up defense. Naruto wasn't sure if the boy knew what he was doing, or if he was just playing the game, but since none of the others would dare hurt Sasuke or get in his way, Naruto was able to relax slightly and enjoy playing.

* * *

The day passed by quickly like that, but while Naruto managed to avoid any direct confrontation with his team members, Orochimaru was a different story. He seemed to have woken up that morning with an especially painful stick up his ass, because he spent the entire day trying to make Naruto crack.

Naruto bore the assault silently, knowing from experience not to snap back, but he couldn't stop himself from tensing up whenever the man drew near, which caused him to fumble on the plays, which made Orochimaru grin wider. He seemed to find sick enjoyment in being cruel to the boy.

He ended the day with free-throw practice, and split them into groups to share the different baskets.

Naruto was sent to the old court alone again. He grimaced as his arms complained at being raised; Orochimaru had doubled his strength training that morning, and had expected him to complete it in the same amount of time as the others, with any failures on his part resulting in barbed comments on his parents and his lack of skills.

Naruto set a slow rhythm, letting his sore muscles rest as much as he could, and eventually forgot about the pain his body was in. It was a natural movement for him, one he was completely used to, and he relaxed into it, going more for accuracy than speed.

"Taking a break, are we?" The slippery voice of cut into his concentration and he flinched, missing the easy shot. Orochimaru smirked at him as Naruto ran to recover the ball. "I see you still need a lot of practice. Why don't you stay here for a while and learn to shoot a basket properly?"

Naruto glanced at the wall clock and scowled. It was later than he'd thought, and if he stayed longer he'd be missing dinner again. Thankfully, he'd smuggled some food from breakfast away just in case, but if he kept missing dinner every night, there was no way he'd have enough energy to play during the day, and he desperately needed to be picked for the tournament team. It was his ticket out.

"Yes, sensei," he didn't miss a beat, turning to Orochimaru with a wide grin and a mocking salute. The man glared at him in displeasure before gliding out, leaving him alone.

Naruto's fake grin slid off his face and he rubbed the back of his neck wryly. Mocking Orochimaru-sensei was definitely a bad idea, but it seemed that even probation couldn't quiet Naruto's aggressive streak. He'd pay for it later, somehow. Orochimaru had proven himself to be inventively cruel with his words and punishments.

* * *

 **/And that's it for now :-) I promise that Sasuke and Naruto will eventually interact haha (maybe even next chapter if we're lucky)**

 **Please comment, I say it every time but I really do love them. They're what inspire me to keep writing after long days at school and work and hours of homework when all I wanna do is sleep (or scroll through facebook endlessly when I should be sleeping haha)**

 **Anyway, peace, love, and cheer, and have a happy new year!**

 **505 out/**


	6. Chapter 6

**/505 here**

 **I'm back! Sorry for the long absence, but as they say, shit happens, life throws bricks at you sometimes, etc...**

 **As you can see, I'm reposting the same chapter, but please still read it because it has been EDITED (yay), and a lot of the dialogue has changed.**

 **Also I'm gonna try to get back on a weekly schedule. I'm a few chapters ahead right now (though they all need serious editing haha), so you can expect posts for the next few weekends (double yay)**

 **Anyway, enjoy, thanks for reading, and please comment :-)**

 **I own nothing**

 **Onwards/**

* * *

Chapter 6

Sasuke slid out of bed and shoved his bare feet into his sneakers. It was past midnight, but he'd woken up and found himself unable to go back to sleep. Around him, the rest of the team was dead to the world. All except Naruto, who'd disappeared, again.

Resolved to find out where Naruto had been going every night and rid himself of the nagging curiosity, he crept out of the room, careful not to wake anyone up. He paused in the hallway, unsure where to look, and ran through the options in his mind first.

He would check the bathrooms just in case, but it seemed unlikely that Naruto would go further than the one next to their room. His best bet was probably the kitchen, he decided, especially since Naruto had missed dinner again.

Sasuke jogged down to the cafeteria, but was immediately disappointed when he realized the doors were locked. There was no way Naruto could have gotten in. Turning around, he wandered through the halls aimlessly.

Reaching the locker rooms, Sasuke thought he heard a sound, so he headed in. It was empty, but the sound had gotten louder. Sure now where Naruto was, Sasuke passed through the room until he was standing in front of the door that led to the main gym, and cracked it open to look through.

Naruto was on the court practicing. And he'd been there for a while, judging by the amount of sweat covering his body.

Sasuke watched as Naruto did reverse layups, alternating sides, with some fakes thrown in here and there. The boy was good, always had been, Sasuke had never questioned that. But he'd never expected Naruto to be the type to practice on his own, to actually dedicate himself to the game. He'd thought the boy just did it for fun.

But here he was, sweating his ass off as he went through drills while everyone else was sleeping. It was pretty…cool, Sasuke grudgingly admitted to himself, his estimation of the boy rising.

Absorbed in watching Naruto, Sasuke didn't notice that he had leaned further in until the door swung open with a giant squeak. Naruto froze, turning to him with his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. Recognizing Sasuke, he relaxed fractionally.

"Holy shit, I thought you were Orochimaru," he said, gazing warily at Sasuke. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Sasuke retorted, flustered from being caught unawares. Naruto stared at him, then raised an eyebrow and waved his hand to indicate the court as if it was obvious. "Yeah, I could see that," Sasuke said, stepping further into the room. He noticed Naruto move subtly into a defensive posture and scowled. _Why should he be afraid of_ me? _I_ _'_ _ve never done anything to him,_ Sasuke thought to himself angrily. But then again, he'd never overtly done anything to help him either. Naruto had no reason _not_ to be wary of him. "I meant what are you doing here in the middle of the night," he tried again.

Naruto shrugged, "I couldn't sleep."

"Do you always come here when you can't sleep?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto shrugged again. "Hn," he took it as a confirmation.

Sasuke moved closer again until he was standing just outside the three-point line, and held his hand out for the ball. Naruto looked at him in surprise before passing it, and Sasuke dribbled twice before shooting it, making a perfect three pointer. Naruto caught the rebound and passed it back to him, and Sasuke moved into a layup.

Naruto automatically moved to block it, and saw through Sasuke's first and second fakes, making Sasuke take a forced shot and miss. Naruto caught the rebound again and took the ball out, Sasuke close on his heels. He faked another layup before crossing over and stepping back into a jump shot, but Sasuke moved with him and blocked the ball before it could fly, sending it out of the court.

They kept playing for a good twenty minutes, keeping the pace high and with neither of them scoring more than a few points off the other. They were both breathing hard and covered in sweat, but Naruto had a large grin covering his face and his eyes were alive, and Sasuke felt relaxed and happy, and knew that this was the most fun he'd had in a while.

Finally, Naruto blocked another one of Sasuke's shots, and the ball went flying to the other side of the gym. The two boys looked at each other before Naruto laughed and threw himself on the ground.

"Holy crap, I'm pooped," he said.

"Hn," Sasuke sat down beside him. They sat in comfortable silence, letting their breathing slow to a normal rate. Sasuke watched Naruto from the corner of his eyes as the other boy stared absently at the ceiling, contentment on his face.

"You really love it, don't you?" He finally asked. Naruto's gaze slid over to him in surprise.

"Yeah, I guess," he said.

"Why?" Sasuke was curious. Naruto was treated like shit by their team, nobody ever cheered him on in the games, and now Orochimaru was basically trying to make him quit. Anyone else would have given up the sport a long time ago.

Naruto was silent for so long that Sasuke was afraid he would't answer at all, and he turned to face the boy, urging him on with his eyes.

"It's…the only way I can relax," Naruto finally mumbled, staring back up at the ceiling to avoid Sasuke's gaze. "My dad taught me how to play, and we used to play every day before…" He trailed off, and Sasuke nodded, understanding.

"It doesn't bring back bad memories?" He asked, his voice low. It felt strange, almost disrespectful, to be bringing up Naruto's father, especially since all of his current troubles came from the death of his parents.

Naruto's gaze cut over to him warily, studying Sasuke. Deciding that the boy wasn't trying to make fun of him or diss his family, he relaxed.

"No, they were good memories," he said, playing with the hair that had fallen in his face. "I wont let some idiots change that for me."

"Hn."

They lapsed back into silence momentarily, their minds a million miles away, until Naruto sat up, his gaze serious.

"They didn't do it, you know. They were innocent," he said, his voice low and hard.

Sasuke was willing to give Naruto the benefit of the doubt. He instinctively trusted him, somehow. The feeling made him uncomfortable, since he rarely trusted anyone, and especially not people like Naruto, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Hn."

"You believe me?" Naruto blinked, surprised, and Sasuke stared back at him.

"I didn't say that."

"No, but I can tell."

"How?" Sasuke demanded, uneasy with the idea that someone could read him so easily. Naruto shrugged.

"I spend a lot of time watching people. I notice things. And I guess playing with you all the time made me get used to reading you." Sasuke scoffed.

"That's bullshit."

"But I'm right, aren't I? You believe me." Naruto smiled, seemingly immune to the glare Sasuke leveled at him.

"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt," Sasuke finally corrected, when he was sure that glaring at Naruto wasn't going to erase the knowing smile from his face.

"That's better than most," Naruto said, his voice tinged with bitterness. "People usually assume I'm lying to cover my ass. As if I cared what they think of me when I know they've already decided to hate me."

"Then why do you try to change their minds?" Sasuke was surprised by how talkative he was being, by his standards. But he really was curious, and the more Naruto talked, the more interested he became.

"Because it's not about me. It's about my parents, and I don't want them remembered as criminals," Naruto said quietly, and Sasuke was surprised by his sudden respect for the boy in front of him.

"So how do you know they were innocent?" He asked.

"Because they were my parents. I knew them. And I know that they weren't mafia."

Sasuke studied Naruto silently before answering. "They could have hidden it from you," he finally said, but Naruto was shaking his head before he'd finished.

"No, you don't understand," he said. "They couldn't have been mafia. They were cops." Sasuke froze, unsure if he'd heard correctly.

"What?"

"They were cops," Naruto repeated. "They had badges and everything. And they loved their jobs, they always came back with the greatest stories. My dad, he'd try to tell them, but my mom would get impatient, or would say he was telling it wrong, and she'd always interrupt to tell them herself. And dad would get this happy smile, you know. He loved watching her tell them. She'd get so excited and start acting parts out. And at the end he'd say to me, 'you hear that? Your mom's a superhero,' and she'd get embarrassed and hit him. But they were always so happy…"

Naruto trailed off, his eyes unfocused and a soft smile on his lips. He was obviously remembering the past, and Sasuke could easily picture a younger, more innocent Naruto at the kitchen table laughing with his parents. He suddenly wanted to give the boy a hug, or to comfort him in some way.

The strange thought jolted him back to reality, and he cleared his throat, trying to ignore the foreign emotion.

"Why didn't any of the other cops come out with the truth?" He asked, and Naruto frowned, coming back to the present.

"I don't know," he said, his voice bitter. "I went there, once, after. To the bureau. They told me that my parents had never worked there, and they wouldn't let me see the register, to check. And their badges disappeared during the investigation on the house."

"That's…illegal," Sasuke said, eyebrows coming together. "The identity of police officers is public information, and hiding their badges would be tampering with evidence."

"I know," Naruto's said. "But no one would believed me, after all, I'm the child of _murderers_." He spat out the word with venom, and Sasuke frowned at the unfairness. It was true, no one would believe him, and the crime was more than six years old. Any proof would have been buried long ago.

"I don't care anymore," Naruto said, his hard voice betraying the lie. "All I want is to _leave_ this stupid town."

"For college?"

"Forever," Naruto gave a short, humorless laugh. "Go somewhere where nobody knows me, where nobody hates me for a crime that neither me nor my parents are guilty for."

"Hn." Sasuke could understand the sentiment, if not to that magnitude. He'd always found the small town slightly claustrophobic, especially since his family was among the wealthiest, giving him a godlike status among his peers, not to mention all the squealing fangirls. It had been more bearable once, until Itachi had disappeared, but…Sasuke shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. No use thinking about that now.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked.

"Wherever I can afford to," Naruto shrugged. "Which really means wherever I can get a full scholarship to."

"So this tournament…"

"Is probably my only chance to get scouted, yeah," Naruto laughed. "Otherwise, if I want to leave, I'll have to quit school and work, and neither of my parents would have wanted that."

"Hn," Sasuke responded, trying to hide how impressed he was. He'd known Naruto was more than what met the eye, but he would never have guessed this. Naruto was cool, intelligent, and interesting. And he was a good person, which surprised Sasuke the most. He'd seen people go bad for much less then what Naruto had been through.

"Is that why you put up with Orochimaru?"

"Well, sort of, I guess," Naruto shrugged. "I mean, yeah I need him to be able to play in the tournament, and he's generally awful, but he _is_ a good coach. Even when he's kicking my ass, I _am_ getting better."

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean," he finally said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "From the way he's been pushing you to the limit while simultaneously starving you, I can see that he has your best interests at heart."

"What can I say?" Naruto grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm a hopeless optimist."

"Or a complete idiot," Sasuke corrected, and Naruto punched him in the arm.

"At least I don't have hair like a duck's ass, bastard!"

"Excuse me?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Was this kid serious?

"You heard me," Naruto grinned. The face Sasuke was making was priceless. He doubted anyone had ever told him that before. _To his face, at least,_ he thought, chortling. "I think the single most convincing argument that you're a robot that I've heard is the way your hair stays like that naturally."

"That's…idiotic," Sasuke said. "Which I guess should be expected coming from you."

Naruto tried to glare at him, but he was having too much fun for the grin to stay off his face.

"Hey, I'm plenty smart," he said. "And I'm cooler, better looking, stronger, and better at basketball." He listed them, grinning when he noticed Sasuke's eyebrow twitch.

"You are not better at basketball then me."

"Is that a fact?" Naruto smirked. "Then explain how I just whupped your ass big time."

"You did no such thing, idiot," Sasuke snorted, and Naruto laughed.

"Bastard, I'd do it again, too, if I wasn't so tired," he said, and Sasuke realized that it was already 4am. They had to be up in less than three hours.

"Dobe," Sasuke smirked, forcing himself to his feet. "You're full of shit."

"Try me, teme," Naruto said, taking the hand Sasuke offered him and pulling himself up. "I'll beat you any day of the week."

"I highly doubt that," Sasuke said over his shoulder, grabbing the ball. "But if you want to test it out, I can probably spare a few minutes from real practice tomorrow."

"Nice. Gives you an excuse to run away when you start losing," Naruto joked, following Sasuke out of the gym.

They kept up a steady stream of banter as they headed towards the room, their voices lowering instinctively as they got closer.

Naruto felt a pang of sadness when they reached the door; he'd enjoyed this. Sasuke wasn't at all like he'd expected, based on his reputation. He wasn't a prick, he was funny, and smart, and sarcastic, and he'd listened to him talk about his parents without insulting him. He was…really cool, actually.

Their impromptu game and the ensuing conversation was probably the most fun he'd had since coming here, and he didn't want it to end. He was half afraid that he'd wake up tomorrow and find out it was a dream, or that Sasuke would change his mind about this whole friendly thing and go back to ignoring him. It had happened before.

As if he knew what Naruto was thinking, Sasuke turned to him with a small smirk on his face.

"See you in a few hours," he whispered. "And don't you dare back out on that rematch over lack of sleep."

"You wish," Naruto whispered back, grinning in relief at Sasuke's back as he disappeared into the room. Naruto followed him in, closing the door silently behind him.

"Night, dobe," the whisper came out of the darkness as he was climbing into his cot, and Naruto smiled happily as he whispered back.

"Night, teme."

* * *

 **/Aaaand there we go. I'm back, I'm writing, tune in next week for more :-D**

 **I love comments. They make me happy.**

 **Paz/**


	7. Chapter 7

**/505 here**

 **Hey guys, been a while, I know, but I'm back! Imma keep this short since I know you want to read, but IMPORTANT INFORMATION:**

 **1\. Go back and reread the last chapter. I edited it and ended up changing a lot of the dialogue, and got rid of some ooc-ness. I like it much better, tell me what you think.**

 **2\. My crazy messed up life has resumed some semblance to normality (I'm no longer homeless, yay!), so I will be posting regularly again, but I'm not sure if I can go back to weekly updates. But stay tuned, cause I'm riding this story to the end :-)**

 **Anyway, enjoy, tell me what you think, and remember that you can't sue me cause I own nothing.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Naruto mechanically shoveled food into his mouth. He didn't know or care what he was eating, he could barely taste it. Hell, chewing was almost too much work right now, but his body knew to eat what was put in front of him at all times, a survival instinct he'd developed growing up not knowing exactly when his next meal would be.

He was exhausted. He hadn't slept more than a few hours a night since he'd gotten here, and he was starting to feel the effects. He wished he was more comfortable here, that he could fall asleep without having to play alone for hours at night to relax first.

Though last night he hadn't played the whole time. He'd talked, to Sasuke of all people. And it had been nice.

Naruto glanced up at the thought and let his eyes roam the cafeteria again. There weren't enough people in it that Sasuke could have entered without his noticing, and he definitely wouldn't blend with the crowd, but he couldn't stop himself from checking.

 _Not here yet,_ Naruto frowned. Sasuke was usually among the first people to enter the room, accompanied by a flirting Sakura and the rest of the admiring team. But today they had entered without him.

Naruto couldn't just go up and ask where he was. It would look strange, and Sasuke might not want people to know they were friendly. He had his popularity to look after, after all, and he might not actually consider them friends, for all that he'd seemed to enjoy hanging out with Naruto last night. And besides, it would be reckless to ask anyone on the team.

He briefly toyed with the idea of asking Sakura, with whom he was still on friendly terms, but the thought was so awkward and their table was so far away that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not to mention that she probably wouldn't know. Sasuke seemed more annoyed by her attention than anything else.

 _Which is just like him,_ Naruto snorted. _He gets the attention of the prettiest girls around and he just ignores them._ He tried to picture Sasuke's ideal type, but the hazy picture that came to mind was just Sasuke with longer hair and boobs. Naruto shuddered at the thought. Sure, Sasuke had a pretty face, but that was just _too_ strange. And anyway it would be really weird to date someone who looked exactly like you.

He smirked as he imagined Sasuke and femSasuke eating together, communicating in glares and 'hn's'. People would worship them for their looks and stay far away. Or they would be constantly stalked by fans. And their kids! Naruto's shoulders shook in silent laughter as his imagination went wild.

"What's so funny?" Naruto looked up, startled, to find a grumpy Sasuke standing in front of him. Or well, grumpier than usual.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he sat down and Naruto continued to stare at him openmouthed. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Uh…no?" Naruto half asked, unsure how to react to the fact that Sasuke was sitting with him.

"Then what?"

"…I don't remember," Naruto lied, deciding that telling Sasuke he'd been picturing him boning his female self was probably not a great idea. Sasuke gave him a strange look, but was interrupted from whatever he was going to say by Sakura's voice.

"Sasuke!" She had finally noticed that he'd entered and started waving at him from across the room. "Come sit with us!"

"No." Sasuke didn't look her way as he answered, but Naruto, facing the table, saw everyone turning to look their way, confused looks on their faces.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Hidan half laughed, thrown off by the change in status quo. "You can't sit there."

"I wasn't aware that we had assigned seats," Sasuke's tone brooked no argument and was a clear dismissal, but Naruto was uncomfortably aware of the glares sent his way by his teammates, promising later pains. He mentally shrugged. The pain was gonna come either way, but at least this way he got something in exchange. And Sasuke as a friend was more than worth it.

Naruto turned back to watch Sasuke attempting to glare his breakfast into submission.

"Not a morning person, I see," he observed, a wry grin spreading across his face. Sasuke scowled at him, his face in no uncertain terms declaring that there was no such thing, and that Naruto was an idiot for even saying it.

"Even if I were," he growled, "It would be impossible on this particular morning, considering that we got less than _three hours_ of sleep last night. How the fuck are you so damn full of energy?"

"I have nearly unlimited amounts," Naruto's grin widened as he scratched the back of his neck, and Sasuke eyes narrowed. He knew that motion, had been watching Naruto (unconsciously or not) long enough to recognize it.

"You're not as good of an actor as you think," he muttered, pissed that Naruto was hiding from him. _Why_ that pissed him off, considering that they had spoken for the first time last night, he didn't fully know, but he wasn't looking too deeply into it.

"What're you talking about?" Naruto laughed, and Sasuke scowled as he pointed his fork in the direction of Naruto's hand, still scratching at the back of his neck.

"You're faking it. That's your tell right there."

Naruto blinked, his hand freezing, and he looked away uncomfortably. Sasuke stared at him for a minute, and when it was clear that Naruto wasn't going to speak, sighed.

"Listen, that was rude. You don't have to say anything." He sure as hell wouldn't have. Everyone put up a front to protect themselves, and Naruto barely knew him. It wasn't fair to call him out like that.

To his surprise, Naruto turned back to him with a snort.

"I'm guessing that's as close to an apology as anyone's ever gotten out of you," he said with a smile. "Should I feel honored?"

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed back, strangely relieved that Naruto was back to his lighthearted self.

"Anyway, I hope you're not gonna use lack of sleep as an excuse when I beat your ass later," Naruto continued, and Sasuke snorted.

"Dobe, I should be the one saying that, considering you can't even beat me when you're well rested." _Though in this case it would probably be true, judging by the dark rings around his eyes,_ he thought to himself.

"Ooh, selective memory, I see," Naruto grinned. "Already forgotten about last night, teme?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the phrase, and Sasuke rolled his eyes at the leering boy in front of him.

"More like delusion on your part," he countered, and smirked as Naruto started spluttering indignantly.

* * *

Across the cafeteria, Kisame's eyes were locked on them as he thought, ignoring the loud rumble of Hidan next to him.

He had worked hard to become the captain of the team. For three years he had sucked up to the previous captains, waiting for his turn, and finally he'd gotten it. And now Sasuke was taking it from him.

Sasuke was one of the best players on the team, and certainly the most popular. It had been sheer luck that he wasn't interested in the role of captain, because he would have gotten it immediately if he had been. Knowing this, Kisame had been worried that his position would ring false, that he wouldn't get the respect he deserved.

But Sasuke had deferred to him, and the rest of the team had followed along, so Kisame had never felt threatened. He respected Sasuke's skills and popularity, and mostly left him alone, which had worked perfectly until now.

Now, Sasuke was after his position. Whether he was doing it on purpose, Kisame didn't know, or care. But he'd somehow sucked up to Orochimaru-sensei, since the man seemed to fucking love him, giving him preferential treatment and completely ignoring Kisame, the captain. In fact, Kisame wasn't even sure if Orochimaru knew he _was_ the fucking captain.

And then fucking Kabuto, who was honestly sort of a creep, developed a weird as shit obsession with Orochimaru. He idolized the greasy coach and followed him around like some sort of retarded sidekick, so when Orochimaru started treating Sasuke like the captain, fucking Kabuto had jumped on board, and the rest of the team had followed along like fucking sheep. They weren't ignoring or disrespecting Kisame outright, but they no longer showed him the same blind obedience, choosing instead to defer to Sasuke.

They had a good team this year, a winning team. And Kisame planned to be the _Captain_ of the winning team at the tournament, not some extra player. And Sasuke was fucking that up. So he had to find a way to get him out of the picture.

An ugly smile spread across his face as he watched Sasuke interact with Naruto. Sasuke could be forgiven a lot, but befriending the mafia fuck? Choosing the mafia fuck over the rest of the team? That was a death sentence. And Kisame intended to use it.

* * *

 **/Aaand that's chapter seven. Stay tuned for more. And tell me what you think! Comments and reviews make me write faster!**

 **Paz/**


	8. Chapter 8

**/505 here!**

 **Got a new chapter, and it's longer than ever! Enjoy :-)**

 **Still don't own anything./**

* * *

Chapter 8

The past two days had been relatively easier for Naruto. For one thing, having a friend that he could relax around, talk to, and joke with made everything else more bearable. And Sasuke was turning out to be a really good friend.

They bonded over their shared passion for basketball, and had become nearly inseparable after that first breakfast. Sasuke preferred to show his friendship through dry, sarcastic humor and witty comments, and Naruto with loud jokes and even louder insults, and despite their contrasting personalities and completely different lives, the two boys found themselves as evenly matched up in friendship as they were on the court.

And while Orochimaru hadn't let up on his special brand of training for Naruto, the rest of the team had become wary of outright attacking him now that he had the protection of the school's golden boy. They didn't completely let up, but the assaults happened less often and there was less power behind them.

Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about Sasuke protecting him. For one thing, he was definitely stronger than Sasuke, at least in a fight, and being protected made him feel like some damsel in distress. For another, he knew that these were only temporary measures.

The team was made up largely of delinquents that Iruka had "rehabilitated" by allowing them to take out their aggression on the court. There were exceptions, of course: Kabuto was an obvious misfit with his thin frame and glasses, and Nagato and Zabuza were both a year older, having failed to graduate, and though they could both be pretty violent they mostly kept to themselves and focused on the game.

But the rest of them were all "problem children" with juvenile records and histories of violence. And Naruto was their perfect victim. Iruka lent as much protection as he could, but as a whole, authorities tended to look the other way when people came after him.

Naruto could protect himself, and usually gave as good as he got, if not better, but with the probation, his hands were tied. He couldn't fight back, and it was the perfect time for revenge.

Eventually, they would get past Sasuke, and his punishment would be ten times worse for the delay. But for now, Naruto was happy to avoid the beating, so he let Sasuke protect him with as much grace as he could.

* * *

Orochimaru was distracted during practice that afternoon. He kept checking his phone as if waiting for a call, and to Naruto's eyes seemed nervous about talking to whoever it was.

 _I can_ _'_ _t say that I mind,_ Naruto grinned, turning back to the court. If Orochimaru was too busy to single him out, all the better, and he'd even let Kisame and Sasuke pick their own teams, so he was going to be able to play.

The game started out ok, with Sasuke, Naruto, Nagato, and Zabuza against Kisame, Hidan, Kabuto and Kakuzu. It was early enough that the rest of the team was too tired to pick on Naruto, and they were still a bit wary about starting anything while Sasuke had his back. But as the game went on, they slipped back into habit, punishing Naruto with faulty passes, elbow jabs, and over the top fouls.

Kisame hid a grin as he watched his plan unfurl before him. Secure in their friendship, Sasuke had no qualms about stepping in to protect Naruto when he could, saving him from the worst of the attacks. And each missed strike raised the frustration of the rest of the team. They needed to hurt Naruto; as revenge for past fights, as punishment for his basketball skills, to release stress from the training camp, and now to release the tension and resentment that had mounted over the past two days of Sasuke's protection. They would go crazy if they didn't.

It would be so easy now to turn that resentment against Sasuke, to make them see him as an outsider and come back under Kisame's leadership. All he needed was something big, something that would make him their boss again.

And he was sure he wouldn't have to wait long. Already Hidan, who Sasuke had intercepted at least a dozen times, was growling, his teeth grinding together as he alternated his glares between Sasuke and Naruto. And Kakuzu was uncharacteristically letting out a stream of curses under his breath after his last hit had gotten blocked. And even Kabuto, who's weirdness hid a tendency towards sadism, was starting to get twitchy. They were nearing the breaking point, all they needed was a good push.

Kakuzu caught Kabuto's pass and went in for a layup with a grin which quickly morphed into a snarl as Naruto blocked the shot, evading the elbow to his face as he came down with the ball in his hands and broke for the other side of the court, Hidan hot on his heels.

"Motherfucking mafia fucker," Hidan snarled, trying to trip him as he ran.

Naruto dodged the feet and glanced at the court ahead. Kakuzu, known for his speed, had gotten under the basket and was waiting for him, but Sasuke was tagging him, not letting him free, and his path was clear.

Naruto faked back, letting Hidan stumble over his own feet before passing him and driving forward.

Suddenly, he heard Sasuke grunt, and glanced over to see Kisame hip check him as Kakuzu broke free and ran towards him with a feral grin on his face. Naruto doubled his speed and concentrated on getting to the basket, sure that he could get there before Kakuzu was in position to block.

He headed into a layup at full speed, his eyes on the basket, and didn't notice Kakuzu whipping his leg around or register Sasuke's warning shout until he hit Kakuzu's foot and flew forward with a yelp of surprise, his momentum crashing him into the ground at full force before he could put his arms up to defend himself.

Pain burst through his face and chest, and he groaned, tasting blood on his lips.

"Dobe, are you ok?" Sasuke was at his side in an instant, helping him up. He tensed as he caught a look at Naruto's face, which was partly smeared in blood.

"M'fine," Naruto mumbled, already gently prodding his nose. "Looks worse than it is. Nose not broken."

"What about your head? Does it hurt? Do you think you have a concussion? Are your ankles and wrists ok? Do you have pain anywhere?"

Naruto blinked up at Sasuke before giving a short laugh, followed by a wince of pain caused by the movement.

"Wow, teme, you must really be worried, judging by the torrential word vomit coming out of your mouth," he joked, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed, about to retort, when somebody laughed behind him.

"Oops, sorry," Kakuzu grinned, accepting a high five from an equally grinning Hidan as he looked down at them. "Didn't see you there."

Sasuke growled, springing up and grabbing Kakuzu by the shirt.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, asshole?" He snarled, his eyes promising murder. Kakuzu's grin slid off his face as he glared back at Sasuke.

"No," he hissed, "what the fuck is wrong with you? Why are you defending that little shit? You like him or something?"

" _You fucking asshole,_ " Sasuke growled, pulling his arm back and punching Kakuzu straight in the face.

Kisame leaped on him, grabbing arm before he could throw another punch and pulling him back.

"Stop," he commanded, as Kakuzu tried to hit back and Hidan jumped forward to defend his friend. Everyone looked ready to ignore him when Orochimaru's voice rang out.

"CEASE THIS MADNESS AT ONCE," He yelled, stalking towards them. They froze comically, Hidan and Kakuzu with their fists still raised, Sasuke still gripping the front of Kakuzu's shirt, and Kisame still holding Sasuke's other arm back.

Orochimaru's gaze, holding nothing but contempt, swept over them, and a icy chill seemed to pass through them. Lowering his voice to a hiss, he continued.

"This is the most unseemly behavior I've ever witnessed. That you had the gall to start a fight on _my_ court. You," he barked out, fixing his eyes on Naruto, who was still crouched on the floor where he had frozen in the process of getting up. "Of course you're involved. Can't expect anything else from mafia trash. Get yourself taken care of, and clean up that mess," he said, referring to the growing pool of blood that was dripping past Naruto's hands and onto the floor. His eyes cut to Sasuke. "You can go with him, since you seem to care so much about our little criminal. As for the rest of you," he sneered at the other three. "20 laps around the track. And no dinner for any of you. Dismissed." He turned on his heel and stalked away, Kabuto following anxiously behind him.

Sasuke growled as he shoved Kisame off of him and let go of Kakuzu, immediately turning to Naruto and helping him up.

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up," he said, ignoring his teammates as he dragged Naruto in the direction of the bathroom.

"Bastard," Kakuzu spat at his back, brushing off his shirt as he headed to the track.

"The fuck is up with him?" Hidan agreed, keeping pace with his friend.

Behind them, a sick smile twisted Kisame's face as he followed them silently.

* * *

"Sasuke, I'm really fine," Naruto protested as Sasuke searched the cabinets for the first aid kit. "It already stopped bleeding, see?" He moved his hand, which had been applying pressure to the bridge of his nose, and grimaced when it came away covered in blood.

"Hn," Sasuke snorted, choosing to ignore the idiot as he grabbed the antiseptic and a wet towel. "Sit," he commanded.

Naruto obeyed with a sigh, groaning quietly as he rested his head against the wall behind him and his eyes slid shut. He was too tired for this shit. Sasuke nudged his legs further apart to crouch between them and hesitated.

"This might hurt," he murmured, not quite asking for permission, but waiting for it anyway. Naruto grunted his assent without opening his eyes.

"Do it."

Sasuke nodded and started washing the blood off Naruto's face. Despite his warning, his hands were gentle as he worked, much more gentle then Naruto's would have been.

Naruto's eyes slid partly open, and he watched Sasuke's face as the boy cleaned him. He was frowning in concentration, with a little wrinkle between his eyebrows that made Naruto want to smooth it out with his finger. And strands of his hair, ruffled and kind of sweaty from practice, were sticking to his face in places, contrasting with the paleness of his skin. Naruto could now see why Sasuke was so popular, why he had all of those fangirls after him. He was stunningly attractive.

Sasuke's face tilted down as he started working on Naruto's mouth and chin, and his hair shifted to cover the majority of his face. Naruto resisted the temptation reach out and brush the hair back, and as if he'd heard Naruto's thoughts, Sasuke glanced up, his hands freezing when he caught Naruto's eyes on him.

"What?" He demanded.

"N'thing," Naruto mumbled. "You're being nice. It's weird." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I can stop if you want," he said, and Naruto cracked a lazy grin.

"No, I like it. 'S like being taken care of by a pretty nurse." Sasuke's eyebrow rose higher, in annoyance this time.

"I can break your nose for real if you want," he offered, and Naruto chucked quietly.

"No, that's ok," he said.

"That's what I thought," Sasuke said, picking up the antiseptic. "This is going to sting," he warned.

Naruto nodded, wincing at the familiar feeling of the burn as Sasuke carefully dabbed it on his nose and mouth, where his lips had split.

"You're going to have bruises tomorrow," he said when he finished, putting the towel down to inspect his work. "Here especially," his fingers unconsciously brushed across Naruto's cheek, over the topmost of the whisker-like scars that crossed his face. He briefly wondered where they were from. It hadn't come yet, and Sasuke didn't want to pry in case it was a sensitive subject.

"I've had worse," Naruto shrugged.

"Hn." Sasuke stood up to throw the towel, which was practically dyed red, into the sink. He turned on the water, letting it run until the towel was covered.

"Ok, take off your shirt."

"What?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Take it off," Sasuke repeated. "It's covered in blood, and you hit your chest pretty hard. I want to make sure you didn't injure yourself."

"Not even gonna offer to buy me dinner first?" Naruto joked, waggling his eyebrows.

"Just do it, dobe" Sasuke sighed, crossing his arms impatiently.

"Anyone ever tell you you're super demanding?" Naruto rolled his eyes as he obeyed, wincing when he lifted his arms above chest level. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and his hands immediately went to Naruto's ribs.

"Tell me if it hurts," he said, his hands roaming the boy's torso.

"Nurse Sasuke to the rescue," Naruto grinned. Sasuke glared at him, applying more pressure than necessary as he checked Naruto's chest, and feeling oddly satisfied when the boy winced again. "Geez, ok, I'll stop. Ouch."

"Well, nothing's broken, but you're gonna be bruised and sore for a while," he finally said, leaning back a bit.

"I could have told you that," Naruto stuck out his tongue. As amusing as it was to have Sasuke fuss over him, he was getting tired of being babied. Sasuke ignored him, still frowning. "What?"

"Nothing. Just…hmm." He placed a hand on Naruto's chest, then moved it up to his forehead. "You're kind of hot."

Naruto burst out laughing. "You're not so bad yourself," he winked, enjoying the slight flush that spread across Sasuke's cheeks as he glared.

"That's not what I meant, you idiot," Sasuke snapped through his embarrassment. "I think you might have a temperature."

"Nah," Naruto shook his head. "I'm always like that. My body's like a furnace."

Sasuke still hesitated, so Naruto reached up and pulled his hand off with a grin. "Don't worry, teme. I'm fine. I really have had worse."

"Who says I'm worried," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto's grin widened.

"Sure, whatever you say," he laughed, and Sasuke 'Hn'd' as coldly as he could as he pulled his hand away from Naruto and stood up to drain the bloody water out of the sink.

"Well, we're done here then," he said, eying the wet towel in distaste. It was still tinged red and he wasn't sure if it'd ever be white again. He'd have to drown it in bleach. Or just throw it out. That might be better.

"Damn, it looks like we just killed someone," Naruto peered over his shoulder into the mess that was the sink. "And got rid of the body. I think that towel's a lost cause, teme."

"I was going to throw it out, dobe," Sasuke said, uncomfortably aware of the heat from Naruto's naked torso seeping through his shirt as the boy leaned closer, propping his chin on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Yeah, good idea," Naruto agreed, seeming not to mind that he was now basically leaning on Sasuke. Knowing him, he was probably doing it on purpose just to bother him.

"You're heavy," Sasuke grunted, trying to ignore the blush he knew was spreading across his cheeks.

"I'm tired," Naruto yawned, ignoring him.

"No kidding, you just lost a ton of blood," Sasuke snapped, harsher than he meant to. He wasn't used to people touching him, alright? Aside from the odd handshake or fist bump, and the disgusting times he didn't dodge a fangirl fast enough, he mainly avoided direct contact with people at all costs. At least outside of the court.

Having Naruto lean against him was leaving him flustered, a feeling he was completely unfamiliar with, and he had no idea how to react. The fact that the body heat felt nice only made it worse.

"I'm gonna go throw it out," he finally said, grabbing the towel and taking a step back so that Naruto had to get off of him. "Grab something to eat and then go clean up the court before Orochimaru-sensei goes off on you."

"Yes, sir," Naruto laughed, grabbing his bloody shirt off the ground. Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto headed for the door. "Thanks, teme," he called over his shoulder as he strolled out.

"Hn," Sasuke answered, turning back to the mirror one last time to glare at the blush that was just starting to fade before striding out the door.

* * *

 **Things are heating up! Who is Orochimaru so nervous about talking to? What will happen between Sasuke and the rest of the team? Why is Sasuke blushing so much (lol we already know that hehe)?**

 **Tune in next time to find out! (I've always wanted to say that XD)**

 **Anyway, comments, review, critics, advice, anything is appreciated! And inspiring! (Just be nice, please :-))**

 **505 out/**


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